Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-05-20
Is IT KEARNS?
A SUSPICION THAT AN ACCESSORY IN TIL 3
ALEXANDRIA MURDER
Is One Of the Crooks Who Broke Jail Here
Last Summer, Being Still
at Large

Prosecuting Attorney Jordan and some
of the other authorities of this city and
county are of the opinion that the John
Curran, who was an accomplice in the kill
ing of Police Officer Julian Arnold, at Al
exandria, Virginia, last Saturday, is the
same man who was indicted here about a
year ago for robbery, under the name OF
James Kearns, and who broke Jail in July
last in company with four other criminals.
Kearns is known to have come to Wheel
ing from some place in Eastern Virginia,
and when he took French leave of Jailer
Nichols he is supposed to have
made his way back to his old
haunts on the banks of the Potomac. Cur.
ran, the man who killed Officer Arnold, has
been on the criminal records of the District
of Columbia since 1869, and some time ago
was convicted of burglary in Baltimore and
served term in the Maryland peniten-
tiary. He was absent from the East about
a year or eighteen months ago, and is sup
posed to have made little trip to Pitts
burg and Wheeling, promptly getting in
trouble here. The murder of Officer Ar
mold happened in this WISE
A circus had been in Alexandria Friday,
showing in the fair grounds. To the south
of the grounds, across King street, lies the
restaurant of Serted Blouse, which had
closed at midnight, but Blouse bad been
called from his bedside, and was standing
at his door, Officer Julian Arnold having
overheard two tramps making plan to rob
Blouse while the police were engaged in
putting out the lights at the street corners.
Officer Arnold and Officer Joseph K. Mar
tin were upon that beat, and having awak-
ened Blouse and cautioned him to he on
his guard, they met f. l. Padgett and j.
Roberts and summoned them to assist in
arresting the two suspected men,
who had gone over into the
circus grounds. Padgett went with
Arnold and Roberts with Martin, while
Blouse watched at his own door. Arnold
and Padgett went by West street, and
crossing the grounds found the two men ly-
ing down in the circus ring. Arnold said:
81 arrest you rs suspicious characters, y
and seized one of them. The men then
fired and Arnold fired twice. Padgett
SITuCk one Ol lUtln WIFI CluD uuu tuSll
grappled with him. Just then Officer
Martin, with Mr.. Roberts and Mr.. A. w.
Henderson, came up aud found Arnold dy-
ing on the ground, and Padgett struggling
with rough, who was soon overpowered
and found to be John Curran. Arnold had
been pierced with ball that could be felt
near the backbone, and was unconscious
Padgett's head had been cut by o passing
ball, and another bullet passed close to
Henderson, wounding Serted Blouse in the
leg as he stood at his door, a hundred yards
away. A crowd gathered, and Curran was
carried TO the station house. Before 3
O'Clock Arnold was dead. The coroner's
jury found that Arnold came to his death
from pistol shot at the hands OF some
person unknown, who was in the company
of John Curran, an accessory of the muir
der
Kearns was often called Curran
here, and responded promptly to that
name. 1t is likely the two names belong
to one and the same individual.